MadMax

The hospital.

I wake up in the hospital with machines all around me. Nobody else is around and I began to freak out.

"Guys?! Where are you?" I wail out.

I curl myself in a ball and start rocking back and forth. All the memories start rushing in and I start crying. My tears start falling like acid rain. Reality hits me, I can barely breath. I fiddled with the remote to call a nurse. An older looking lady comes rushing in.

"Good morning! You had quite the hard fight. Is everything okay?" She says calmly.

I shake my head fiercely and ask, "Where are my friends? I need them!"

"Only one is allowed in at a time, hospital policy. Who would you like me to grab?" She politely asks.

I really want to see Eleven but I ask for Nancy instead. I need to know what is going on and she will know.

Nancy walks in slowly, "Oh Max, it is so good to see that face. How are you feeling?"

"Tired" I reply.

She walks over and grabs a cup of water and helps me drink it. Then she sits next to me on the hospital bed.

"Thank you" I said

"Of course, you need to drink water especially at a time like this."

"No, I mean thank you...for everything. You saved my life Nancy."

She pulls me into a hug, "No need to thank me."

We sit there in a hug for a minute. She grabs me by my shoulders cautiously and looks me up and down.

"I'm so sorry Max, you don't deserve this." She sympathizes.

"Maybe I do, you know? Maybe the universe is punishing me."

"Max, I swear none of this is your fault. You're just a kid."

I nod my head fighting back the tears.

There's a knock at the door and before anyone can answer the whole party comes barging in.

"Guys the nurse said one at a time!" Nancy scolds.

"The nurse didn't see us." Steve replies

Nancy just rolls her eyes but doesn't argue.

"El!" I sit up and she comes over.

"I don't want to hurt you." She says, softly.

"You could never hurt me!" I pat on the bed next to me and she gladly sits down.

"I'm sorry I let the bad man get you." She burst out crying.

I pulled her in for a hug, "Hey, it was not your fault one bit. There was nothing you could've done."

"Max, we are so glad you're okay." Lucas chimes in.

"Thanks stalker, I couldn't of done it without you guys."

Everyone piles in for a group hug. I wince and it hurts a bit but I don't want to ruin the bittersweet moment.